Storage of documents for archival purposes is often accomplished by using a conventional polyester pocket. A conventional polyester pocket is essentially two sheets of polyester that are clear and rather smooth that are bound to one another, such that the top edge of the two sheets of polyester are bound. The right edge of the two sheets of polyester are bound and the bottom edge of the two sheets of polyester are bound.
The left edge of the two sheets of polyester is typically left open, so that the user can insert a document between the two sheets of polyester. Once a document has been inserted between the two sheets of polyester, the left side of the two sheets of polyester is typically bound in a notebook for archival purposes. The two sheets of polyester are typically wider than the document to be placed within them. For example, a typical polyester pocket would receive a document that is 8½ inches wide, and in such case, the polyester pocket might be an extra inch or inch and a half wide beyond the 8½ inches, so that there is a margin or an area through which holes for binding could be placed, such that the holes would miss the document enclosed in the polyester pocket. It is not uncommon for multiple polyester pockets to be stacked one upon another, similar to pages in a book, so that notebooks full of documents to be archived can be maintained.
Unfortunately, there are several drawbacks to using conventional polyester pockets. First, conventional polyester pockets really have no means of sealing themselves once a document is placed therein. While the top, right and bottom sides of a conventional polyester pocket are sealed, typically, the left side remains unsealed, and only the static cling of the two sheets of polyester making up the polyester pocket provide a pseudo-seal to pollutants that would occur in the air and damage a document contained within the pocket. Thus, there is a need for a polyester pocket for archival purposes that provides a better seal to the environment than simply the pseudo-seal created between two clear sheets of polyester making up an archival polyester pocket.
Moreover, conventional polyester pockets, when stacked upon one another, do not lay flat. Laying flat would mean that if the user would stack 50 conventional polyester pockets one on top of another, with documents inserted in each polyester pocket, the stack of polyester pockets would be completely vertical. Unfortunately, conventional polyester pockets, because they are wider than the documents contained therein, are actually thicker in the portion of the polyester pocket that holds the document, and thinner on the left margin of the polyester pockets that do not hold the document, and merely represent the two sheets of the polyester pocket touching one another.
The concept of laying flat is important because if 50 or 100 or 200 conventional polyester pockets are stacked upon one another and placed in a notebook, the notebook will not sit properly, or be able to be placed in a book shelf properly, because it will not completely close. The notebook will not completely close because the left margins of the polyester pockets do not take up as much girth as the majority of the polyester pockets. For example, a user viewing conventional polyester pockets with documents inserted in each one of the polyester pockets would see a stack of polyester pockets upon one another, arcing to the left or arcing to the right. Arcing to the left would occur if the margin of the polyester pockets not containing a document is on the left. Arcing to the right would occur if the margin where the two sheets of polyester for each pocket not containing a document are to the right.
In short, there is a need for a polyester pocket that will not arc to the right or arc to the left when stacked upon itself multiple times. Restated, there is a need for a polyester pocket that will lay flat when 100 of the polyester pockets or 200 of the polyester pockets are stacked upon one another, so that when placed in a notebook, the notebook will be able to actually close and fit in a book shelf, as opposed to remaining open because the outside margin of the polyester pockets has greater girth than the inside margin of the polyester pockets.
Moreover, polyester pockets themselves are made of thin layers of polyester joined together. When bound in a notebook or other storage medium, the rings of the notebook can put stress on the holes made in the polyester pockets to retain them. There is a need for a polyester pocket that has a mechanism of reinforcement, so that when the polyester pockets are flipped on the rings of a conventional notebook, the polyester pockets are not susceptible to ripping from the holes that help to hold the polyester pockets on the rings of the notebook.
Furthermore, conventional standards for archiving paper only favor archival with polyester. While vinyl and other materials can be used to archive documents, only polyester is recognized as the safest material to be used.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,742,812, issued to Ramella et al on Jun. 1, 2004, shows a vinyl pocket for storage pages that is heat sealed around its edges. Unlike the present invention, Ramella et al's device is made of vinyl, not polyester. Moreover, unlike the present invention, Ramella et al's device is heat sealed, so that should the user want to remove a document from its protective pocket, the heat sealing prevents easy removal. Additionally, the heat sealing of Ramella et al's device could potentially damage a document enclosed within the vinyl pocket because the heat for melting vinyl could adhere to the document. Thus, there is a need for an improved polyester pocket for holding documents that will not interact with the document, or fuse to the document, but merely protect it, allow it to lay flat, prevent atmospheric pollutants from encountering the document while it is in the polyester pocket and be made of purely polyester, because polyester is the only substance that is highly recommended for storage of documents.